Import: DQIX Quest Log
by ficsofez
Summary: Enoch was only a novice Celestrian. He never dreamed of falling out of the sky. He never thought he would lose his halo and his wings. He certainly never expected to have to team up with three half-mad humans.  DQIX branch of the Ezraein Import series.
1. Q001 One Good Turn

_**Import: DQIX Quest Log  
><strong>Ezra Evans_

* * *

><p><strong>Rating:<strong> K

**Warnings:** slight AU

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragon Quest IX, which is the marketed property of Square Enix and Nintendo; I'm just letting a few alternate versions of my mates and myself run around wreaking havoc.

**Author's Notes:** I originally intended on posting these five at a time, and I almost managed it, but then my DQIX muse poofed for Q005 and never came back. Subsequently, this has been sitting around for a while.  
>Part of my Import series, which spans several fandoms and involves me and my mates running around wreaking havoc. Realistically. Or so I hope. :B<br>Here's hoping I don't make a fool of myself. Or maybe I will on purpose. DQIX quests can do that.

* * *

><p><strong>[Q001] One Good Turn<strong>

_You've been asked by a girl called Questelle in Angel Falls to go and find a Tangleweb. Try investigating the big spider's web on the other side of the river just outside the village. Keep your eyes peeled for something twinkly..._

The girl—he thinks her name might be Estelle—had told him that yes, there was a giant spider's web just across the river, and yes, it was deserted, and no, he would not have to worry about a giant spider because the thing was _deserted_, and would he pleaseplease_please_ answer all her prayers and get a tangleweb for her? And of course he'd consented, thinking that even if he'd lost his wings and his halo and wasn't technically a Celestrian anymore, he was _still_ Angel Falls' guardian. Besides, he reasoned to himself, the monsters in the area were easy enough to defeat or outrun or chase away.

Except that the spider's web was _not_ as deserted as he had been told and he certainly did _not_ expect to have to fight another giant monster so soon after the one in the Hexagon. The enormous spider was slow enough that he would have easily been able to flee under normal conditions: the problem was that in the process of trying to retrieve tanglewebs he had ended up accidentally using a few on himself, not to mention the web itself sticking to his sandals and slowing him down.

Naturally, he tried to run. He was perhaps fifteen feet from the edge of the web when the spider's shadow descended upon him, an ominous warning that he would not be able to get away. Regretting that he had been so close to escaping, he turned to face the monster. However, as he braced himself as well as he could against the quivering web, raised his sword shakily, and tried desperately not to topple over, he heard a faint twang and hiss and saw a shaft of wood protruding from one eye. The spider pulled away, enraged with pain but also confused and bewildered, and he took the opportunity to scramble the remaining distance backwards off of the web, aided by pushy hands that tugged him viciously to safe ground. He turned and ran for the trees the second he reached solid ground without a second glance back at his savior.

A pale-skinned, green-haired girl slid down the nearest tree trunk and bounded past him, bow and arrow raised. "Get out the way, mate, we'll be done in a mo'!" He spun around, bewildered, only to hear her shout, "Hey, save me some of the experience, won't you?" followed by an inarticulate name that sounded something like 'Étroonj.'

'Étroonj' shouted back incomprehensibly.

Well, he'd gotten what he'd come for, and the odd pair seemed fine without him. He let out a brief sigh and hurried back to Angel Falls.

* * *

><p>"Oh, thank you thank you <em>thank<em> you!" Questelle cried, hopping up and down on the spot. He waved her off tiredly (though not before she managed to give him a sleeping hibiscus) and vaguely wondered why she hadn't offered any Benevolessence before remembering that the Fyggs had bloomed and that the great tree of Yggdrasil would not need any more spirit of gratitude and that as a not-quite-Celestrian he probably wouldn't be able to collect it anyways.

"Hey, you! Guy with the sword!"

He turned, startled, automatically reaching for the weapon at his hip.

"It _is_ you! Hey, Ezzer, I found him!" a redheaded girl called, delighted.

Her green-haired companion appeared as though she had Zoomed there. "Really? Excellent! How are you? Well, you're walking and talking so I suppose you're alright."

"Sorry about the spider!" the first girl chirped.

"Yeah, we were in the grotto down below when it came along and chased us up," the second added.

"Bit off a bit more than we could chew with that one," the first laughed.

"So we decided to wing it before it could bite our heads off, and so we would have more room, 'specially since as an archer I work better at a distance," the second explained.

"Except when we got out, you were there," the first frowned, "But you'd disappeared while we were fighting, so Ezzer here was worried you'd gotten attacked by some other escaped grotto monster or something. I'm E'trange, by the way, spelled E-apostrophe-T-R-A-N-G-E."

"I—er—" he stammered, bewildered.

"Funny name, isn't it?" the archer smiled. "But she won't tell me her first name, so E'trange will have to do. I'm Ezra." She stuck out her hand. "You?"

He hesitated for a moment before offering his hand, a shy smile, and his name.

_You found a tangleweb for Questelle in Angel Falls, and she gave you a sleeping hibiscus in return. She told you to look for twinkly spots, as they show there's an item in that location. You can do this quest as many times as you like._

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><p><strong><span>o m a k e<span>**

He hesitated for a moment before quietly admitting, "Enoch," and, since he had seen other humans shake hands, awkwardly extended his own.

Ezra grabbed his hand enthusiastically. "No kidding? We heard about you!"

"Saved a lady from the Hexagoon, didn't you?" E'trange agreed, exchanging a sly look with her partner when Enoch nodded mutely.

"Say, you're pretty new at this adventuring business, aren't you?" Ezra began, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"We just met up in Stornway not long ago," E'trange cut in, smirking as she elbowed Ezra's side.

"But after that last hullabaloo with the spider, we figured we could do with another partner, so…" Ezra continued blithely, ignoring E'trange.

He blinked as she dropped off, tilting his head slightly. Ezra's grin faded a little.

E'trange burst out cackling. "You from Batsureg or something?" she snickered, clapping a hand against Enoch's back and ignoring his wince. "Ezzer here's a little vague, so I'll clear it up for you: Will you join us? Or, I dunno, is it the other way around? We've not got much planned, see."

He was stunned into silence.

Ezra began to open her mouth to say something, except that his mouth was already open and was in fact just closing. He wondered when he had said it.

_"Okay."_


	2. Q002 Pleased as Punch

_**Import: DQIX Quest Log  
><strong>Ezra Evans_

* * *

><p><strong>Rating:<strong> K

**Warnings:** slight AU

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragon Quest IX, which is the marketed property of Square Enix and Nintendo; I'm just letting a few alternate versions of my mates and myself run around wreaking havoc.

**Author's Notes:** I originally intended on posting these five at a time, and I almost managed it, but then my DQIX muse poofed for Q005 and never came back. Subsequently, this has been sitting around for a while.  
>Part of my Import series, which spans several fandoms and involves me and my mates running around wreaking havoc. Realistically. Or so I hope. :B<br>Here's hoping I don't make a fool of myself. Or maybe I will on purpose. DQIX quests can do that.

* * *

><p><strong>[Q002] Pleased as Punch<strong>

_A girl named Ricki in the church in Stornway wants you to egg her on with an air punch._

"Go on, cheer the girl up," E'trange encouraged, a rather obnoxious smirk on her face.

"Come on, don't be shy," Ezra prodded, grinning treacherously.

Enoch glared halfheartedly at the pair of them before reluctantly jerking his fist vaguely upward. E'trange made a face at him.

"That's no good," the both of them scolded in unison. (He wondered vaguely if they had really only known each other for as short a time as they claimed.) "And you're a minstrel, you say? You're doing it all wrong! You've got to do it like _this_!" And they punched the air enthusiastically, _still in unison_.

"You two can show Ricki," he muttered rebelliously.

"Oh, but we can't," Ezra replied mildly.

"Yeah, she asked _you_ to," E'trange explained solemnly. "We can't possibly pretend to be you. We're girls. There's no way she wouldn't notice we aren't you."

"It's a pity," Ezra sighed, "but you've got to be the one."

"Therefore, you need to be able to air punch _properly_," E'trange scolded.

"Come on now, try it again," Ezra urged.

He made a mental note to avoid people requesting performances, no matter _how _much Benevolessence he needed.

_After you egged on Ricki in Stornway with an air punch, she taught you the 'Pirouette' party trick. You can assign your party tricks from the Misc. menu, and perform them by holding down the B Button and using the +Control Pad._

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><p><strong>o m a k e<strong>

"Priceless!" E'trange crowed.

"Absolutely!" Ezra howled.

"Shut up," Enoch muttered sullenly, his face burning.

"Who'd have thought," E'trange cackled.

"Looks like our mate here's got a little minstrel in him after all," Ezra agreed.

And then, in unison _yet again_, "He's got a lovely _pirouette_!"


	3. Q003 We Like To Party

_**Import: DQIX Quest Log  
><strong>Ezra Evans_

* * *

><p><strong>Rating:<strong> K

**Warnings:** slight AU

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragon Quest IX, which is the marketed property of Square Enix and Nintendo; I'm just letting a few alternate versions of my mates and myself run around wreaking havoc.

**Author's Notes:** I originally intended on posting these five at a time, and I almost managed it, but then my DQIX muse poofed for Q005 and never came back. Subsequently, this has been sitting around for a while.  
>Part of my Import series, which spans several fandoms and involves me and my mates running around wreaking havoc. Realistically. Or so I hope. :B<br>Here's hoping I don't make a fool of myself. Or maybe I will on purpose. DQIX quests can do that.

* * *

><p><strong>[Q003] We Like to Party<br>**

_Ricki in the church in Stornway has asked you to egg her on with another party trick._

He had managed to successfully tuck himself behind the main signpost, _away_ from the festivities and the attention of the city carnival celebrating the vanquishing of the Wight Knight, thank you very much. Ezra and E'trange, of course, were in the thick of it, dancing and singing like it was their job.

Which, he reflected, it was.

He was a terrible minstrel, he decided, and would have to change his vocation as soon as he could, perhaps to a paladin. Not that he hated helping people—quite the opposite, seeing as it was what he had lived for as a Celestrian—but the dancing-around-openly-supporting-people part was a completely new thing for him. Frankly, it made him uncomfortable. He never did like attention, and attention was hard-gained when you were previously invisible.

"Hello again!"

He looked up and saw Ricki leaning over the signpost, staring back at him with a shy smile playing around her lips. "Hello," he echoed a little glumly.

Ricki disappeared for a moment and reappeared around the side of the post to plop onto the grass next to him. "You okay?" she asked after a short pause, a little too loudly.

"Just…thinking," he replied slowly, trying to decide if he should tell her and how much. He was surprised enough that the church priests didn't accuse him of lying outright whenever he went in for confessions, but he supposed that as priests they could see and accept more of the spiritual truth than the typical human.

"Thinking?"

"Of home," he allowed quietly.

"Home? Where do you live?"

A small smile played around his lips as he said wryly, "The sky."

"Really?" Ricki whispered, and with a jolt Enoch realized that she was far too close for comfort. He hesitated, trying to decide whether retreating would be considered rude and further deciding that rudeness could be forgiven in the face of rudeness, but just as he started to edge away from her, she leaned in and kissed him. He froze.

"What are you doing?" an all too familiar voice hissed, and Ricki broke away from him to look up at the menacing form of a very _angry_ minstrel archer.

At this point his mind unfroze and he scrambled away from the pair frantically, losing himself in a crowd he rather forgot was there.

E'trange popped up suddenly, a slight furrow between her brows. "I've lost me Ezzer, have you seen her?"

He pointed mutely in the direction he had come just as a huge commotion exploded in the same direction. Only just distinguishable were the familiar voice of Ezra and the significantly less familiar voice of Ricki.

"Oh," was E'trange's only reaction. "Well, I can always find her after the festivities. In the meantime, I suggest the church," she indicated aforementioned building with a closed fan in her hand, "and a bit of prayer. It'll do you much better than a secluded wood."

He looked at her questioningly.

"Just get in there and pray," his partner ordered darkly.

He found himself doing as she said, though not before frantically wiping at his mouth and spitting hastily into the bushes by the church.

_You gave Ricki just what she wanted: four party tricks in a row. In return, she taught you the 'Pray' party trick. Don't forget: you can assign four party tricks to the down direction of the +Control Pad and unleash them all at once!_

* * *

><p><strong>o m a k e<strong>

"So you're young Ricki's newest victim?"

He nodded in agreement, much too tired to do anything more.

"Slept with her yet?"

He started, flushed violently, and bolted out the door.

"I'll take that as a no. So how many is that, now?" the priest sighed, turning to the dozen-odd boys shuffling nervously in the other aisles of the sanctuary.


	4. Q004 Pick Me Up a Panacea

_**Import: DQIX Quest Log  
><strong>Ezra Evans_

* * *

><p><strong>Rating:<strong> K

**Warnings:** slight AU

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragon Quest IX, which is the marketed property of Square Enix and Nintendo; I'm just letting a few alternate versions of my mates and myself run around wreaking havoc.

**Author's Notes:** I originally intended on posting these five at a time, and I almost managed it, but then my DQIX muse poofed for Q005 and never came back. Subsequently, this has been sitting around for a while. Quite a long while, actually...  
>Thinking of publishing whole chapters to reply to reviews, because FFN is silly and doesn't show me when I've responded or <em>how<em> I've responded, which is infinitely more important. If I go through with that, I'll make review-response chapters every fifth chapter or so...

* * *

><p><strong>[Q004] Pick Me Up a Panacea<br>**

_Bill, a scholar from Stornway, wants you to make him some Panacea. Apparently you can make it using alchemy._

Krak Pot had forgotten a lot.

He was poshly friendly, of course, and perhaps more than a little mad, but in his own righteous opinion, sitting about gathering dust in an attic would do that to most. Also curious was how he had managed to remember the number of existing alchemic recipes, but not the details of aforementioned articles, save for a few of the most common medicines and accessories.

The panacea, unfortunately, was not one of them.

But _you_ try telling that to impatient humans with no respect for precious artifacts.

"What do you _mean_ you don't remember?" the redhead demanded impatiently for the umpteenth time.

"Calm down, E'trange," the pale girl drawled from her seat on the floor by a shelf, flipping a page in her book.

"I will _not_ calm down," E'trange squawked indignantly. "Besides, what the hell are you two reading _books_ for at a time like this?"

"He never wanted us to get it to him right away, right, Ezra?" the wingless Celestrian murmured softly, absorbed in his own book.

"Yeah, and it's no good trying to prove him wrong about our speed. He wasn't convinced we'd be able to manage it at all, remember? Although that might be more because we've got quite enough to do as is," Ezra added thoughtfully.

"You still haven't explained why you're sprawled everywhere reading _books_, Enoch," E'trange grumbled.

"Alchemic books," Enoch replied. "Found it. We need special medicine, superior medicine, and a moonwort bulb." He looked up with a slightly pained expression. "Have we _got_ those?"

"Moonwort bulbs are common, I'm sure we can get one from the store if we don't already have one," Ezra dismissed. "It's the other two I'm worried about."

E'trange turned to Krak Pot. "Do you know how to make _those_?"

"Of course I do," Krak Pot sniffed. "You need two strong medicines to make special medicine and a medicinal herb and a strong medicine for a superior medicine."

"So then we'd need strong medicine too?" Ezra queried.

"Yes. I presume you know how to make _those_, at least?"

"Two medicinal herbs per strong medicine," Enoch said.

His companions stared.

"I studied a bit of alchemy in the O—yeah," he explained, shifting uncomfortably. "Wasn't really good at it, though," he added in a mumble.

"Well!" Krak Pot cut in grumpily, "If that's that, we can begin!"

_You used special medicine, superior medicine, and a moonwort bulb to make some panacea for Bill in Stornway. He gave you a Gleeban guinea in return, and shared some recipe tips with you._

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><p><strong>o m a k e<strong>

"I don't think Krak Pot likes you very much, E'trange," Ezra commented lightly as she led the group away from the sputtering alchemist behind them.


End file.
